Of Sexy Beast and Psychopaths

My eldest stepson, Nathan, bought me a dvd of Sexy Beast for christmas that had a picture of Ray Winston on the front in his Speedos smoking a cigar. I thought it was a bit of a joke, a bit of fun and I laughed with everybody else, the guy on the cover reminded me of myself when I stand by the pool on holiday except Ray has hair, my head is a shaven haven. The next day, Boxing Day, the wife and I headed off to Mexico for two glorious weeks in the sun on the Caribbean coast, nice hotel, cooling sea to swim in, comfortable sun loungers under a palm tree, great books (including a Sgt Rory Miller) to read, very hot and a good gym for early evening workouts. I kind of forgot about the dvd.

On our return, well not long after, my brother Darren asked to borrow Sexy Beast, that’s mid January, I finally got it back a week or so ago. I kind of go through phases with movies, I don’t watch anything for ages and then I binge. I borrowed a number of films, a diverse bunch, and enjoyed every one of them I then got my copy of Sexy Beast back. My brother said that Ben Kingsley was superb and that I would enjoy his part as well as the whole film. He was partly right. The part played by Ben Kingsley, always in people’s mind as Gandhi, is that of Don Logan a gangster, a feared and respected man but clearly more feared than respected. When I say respected I meant the kind of respect one would have for a Spitting Cobra that has slithered into your bed at night, you awake and it is inches from your face ready to strike, the kind of respect terror engenders. I thought Kingsley played Logan absolutely superbly, stunning in his movement, his mannerisms and he had lines most actors would die for and he looked as far from Gandi as is possible. Just have a look at this clip, if easily offended please just read on.

Ray Winston is the central character and he too is superb, I love Ray, he IS the daddy, he plays a great character, been there done it got the t-shirt, but for me Kingsley steals the show. Don Logan is the consummate psychopath. He is clearly insane, has zero empathy, what he wants he will have at any cost, has known he is different from birth and imitates, badly, human behaviour and is completely and utterly without conscience. Logan terrifies the central character and those around him, he manipulates his terrified audience an twists them to his will. You must watch this performance as it is stunning, a steamroller of an assault on the others psyche as he dominates all conversation, kills any opposition stone dead and exudes a dark, negative power that is all consuming. I loved this film, I will watch it again, probably many times. It is like having a real life psychopath in a lab.

Don Logan is a fictional character but we all know that Don Logan’s exist, there are monsters walking amongst us. Psychopaths are distributed amongst the general population in much the same proportion as left handed people. They are spread through all classes and in all cultures. Not all psychopaths behave like Don Logan, they are a diverse bunch but they share many similar traits. I do not intend to go into detail but to recommend a superb video I watched yesterday that covers material from “The Art of Urban Survival, A Family Safety and Self Defense Manual” by Stefan H Vestappen. It is 37 minutes long and worth watching in its entirety. It explores in some detail the various manifestations of psychopathy and how psychopaths think and work.

I was explaining how great this video was to my wife this morning and how I came across it, she observed that I had not managed to order a replacement thermostatic valve for the shower I am repairing or grout the floor I tiled the other day, (points to the wife I am afraid), I am easily distracted you see. Anyhow, I was explaining the video as we had been talking about people’s behaviour and started off explaining how certain traits of psychopathic behavior are present in people we know, indeed I possess quite a few, scary. Then I had to tell her about Sexy Beast, again.

The Defense Against the Pychopath video below is enlightening, informative, educational and humorous, it is also scary in part. You will know a psychopath, I guarantee it. Will you recognise one, probably not, they are usually incredibly skillful, they are capable of the most outrageous deceptions and they will use you as log as you serve their purpose. The are drawn to positions of power, they infest the body politic, religious organisations and corporations. It could be your boss, partner, friend, priest, MP, child, colleague or just about anybody is the psychopath in your life. Just ask around how many left handers there are. I do this in my self defence classes, then remember there are this many psychopaths too.

Just to let you know the best bit for me of Defense Against the Psychopath , it is the great use of constantly changing images, moving and still, used to reinforce the excellent, clear verbal delivery that I really loved, especially the image when when the phrase moronic psychopath is used. Some of the biggest names and egos are included in this fascinating and irreverent presentation. Enjoy Sexy Beast, thanks again Nathan, it’s a superb film with outstanding performances all round, enjoy the following video and learn from it, it may help you prevent a Don Logan entering your life. By the way, I grouted the floor this morning and am off to order the valve now, sleep well, Garry.